Making a new musical is one of the hardest things you can do in the theatre, and the decades-long search for the “great Australian musical” has often felt like looking for the Holy Grail. But, as Ben Neutze reports, we could be on the cusp of a golden age of new Australian musicals.

Muriel’s Wedding The Musical
Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. Photo © Lisa Tomasetti

It’s often said that getting a new musical on stage is theatre’s equivalent of climbing Everest. Plenty of brave souls attempt to scale the heights each year, but it’s a punishing task and many never make it to the peak.

In recent years, an increasing number of Australian artists have been working away on musical theatre projects, spurred on by the growing success of local productions....